Description

When enjoying a southeast asian soup or cup of herbal tea, we are really savoring the flavor of lemongrass. Similarly, the sweet aroma of mosquito-repelling lotions comes from the citronella oil present in them. Fine perfumes, candles, and herbal pillows with the pleasing smell of rose are often in fact scented with palmarosa. Providing an in-depth look at their history and production, Essential Oil Bearing Grasses: The genus Cymbopogon provides a comprehensive review of these economically important grasses.

A detailed examination of chemical constituents and market trends, the book explores the cosmetic, medicinal, and nutritional uses of the plant. It covers the botany, taxonomy, chemistry, and biogenesis of the oils, and their extraction and analytical methods, biotechnology, storage, legislation, and trade. Highlighting industrial uses for the grasses in this genus, the book also includes coverage of the physiological and ecophysiological considerations. It presents a comprehensive overview of most of the cultivated and wild species of cymbopogons.

Featuring contributions from a team of international experts, the book describes the considerable ethno-botanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological knowledge associated with the multidimensional uses of the oils. It provides a complete industrial profile that includes market size, geographical sources, export and import data, and industry uses. Its pages offer an invaluable resource for research, cultivation, marketing, or product development of Cymbopogon.

Reviews

The book is valuable (apart from its significance as a valuable monography for university biologists) for recipients representing spheres of activity such as food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

—G. Marszalkowski (Warszawa), in Acta Physiol Plant, 32:613, 2010

The book will be most appreciated by the technically inclined—it is far from being any sort of aromatherapy book for the lay person … a great chemistry-bench reference book and a scrupulous analytical tool for the laboratory.

The audience for this book appears to be the industrial users of extracts of lemon grass, the overall common name applied to this genus of tropical grasses. … References cited are extensive. A great deal of technical information on the chemistry of the compounds is presented and the chapters are rife with structural formulae. In addition to chemistry, there are chapters on toxicology, trade, and harvest.